Defense of Ionia
by Nerolphana
Summary: Zelos has all of his efforts focused on keeping Ionia safe in the event of another invasion from Noxus. His sister is... a little distracted. But she still does her best to help. First Fanfic ever, so please leave reviews.
1. Chapter 1

**3 months after the Noxus Invasion of Ionia.**

"I understand Ionia is in danger, but there is not much I can do about it. I need my men to keep my people safe. I can't just send them off to help you and leave my land undefended."

The words Zelos heard were the ones he was dreading the most. Without Demacia's help, Ionia would most likely fall to another invasion from Noxus. Zelos is not one to give up quickly, but he is also knows which battles he can and can't win. Rather than spending time on a lost cause, he figured it would be best to spend time on things he can control, like preparing his people for the worst. What a waste of a month.

"I understand" muttered Zelos, the pain in his voice evident. He walked out of Jarvan IV's court feeling defeated and hopeless. Walking out of the palace, he noticed how heavy the security was, and couldn't help wondering why some of the soldiers could not be spared. Now on the street, he began walking towards the inn he was staying at, trying to figure out how to break the bad news to his sister, Irelia.

When Zelos got back to his room, his sister was not there. Odd, he thought. She has no diplomatic missions here, why would she be gone. Zelos sat down on his bed and gave out a sigh. Now he had to wait for his sister to come back before he could go back to Ionia. Zelos walked outside and saw a lavish city with more more resources than Ionia will ever have. How can Jarvan say he has no one to send when there are this many people about. Zelos decided to walk around a bit to get a feel for the city. He felt hungry, so he decided to go to the market district to get something to eat. When he arrived there, he saw hundreds of people and dozens of stores and stalls, all offering some sort of product or service. He decided on a bar, he could use a beer or two after the events of today. He sat down at the bar, and ordered a drink. Looking around as he waited, he couldn't help but notice a table in the corner. A girl and a man were sitting at it eating a meal, and the girl looked suspiciously like Irelia. Intrigued, Zelos took his drink and walked over, as he approached, he realized the girl was his sister. Then who is the man?

"Irelia." The word almost made her jump.

"What are you doing here."

"Umm..." Irelia began to respond. "I was um, just getting some food..."

"Who's your friend?" asked a skeptical Zelos.

"My name is Garen" responded the man. "May I ask who you are?"

"I am Zelos, Irelia's brother. Why did you come here without telling me Irelia?"

"Why are you asking so many questions Zelos!"

Zelos was taken aback by his sisters sudden anger. What did he say to make her angry.

"Stop being so protective of me! I've been in more battles than you! I don't need you to constantly be looking out for me."

"Calm down Irelia." The voice came from Garen. "Your brother is just worried about your safety. You are the only family he has, he doesn't want anything to happen to you."

"Yeah, bu..." Irelia began.

"There's nothing else to say about it. He cares about your safety."

Irelia sat in silence, staring at the ground.  
Did she just listen to him? Why doesn't she ever listen to me?

"Thank you for those words Garen, im suprised she listened to you."

"Why is that?"

"She never listens to anyone" laughed Zelos. "Not even me."

Garen smiled a bit and took a sip of his beer.  
"Irelia, it's time to go. I'll tell you what happened, but we need to get back to Ionia."

"But Zelos, I want to stay longer" said a saddened Irelia.

"We need you in case of an attack" Zelos said softly.

"Noxus will not attack for a while, and I feel like I should be here for longer. If things get bad, I will be closer to people that can support us." Irelia said back.

Zelos know it was true, but he couldn't help but feel Irelia wouldn't tell him the real reason she wanted to stay.


	2. Chapter 2

Garen woke up, and proceeded to get out of bed. He put on a shirt and his shoes, and walked out of his bedroom. He was greeted with the smell of eggs and onions.  
"Good to see you're up Garen!" Came a girls voice. "I made breakfast again."

"Thank you, you are such a good cook Irelia" Garen said as he sat down and grabbed his food.  
He ate it, savoring every bite, she really was a good cook.

"My brother left late last night, he did not want to waste any time. I don't think his sense of urgency is completely called for, Noxus will not invade for a while after how we weakened them."

"You are probably right Irelia" Garen said after swallowing his food. "Noxus is weakened, but another invasion is inevitable; they will want revenge." "I would recommend trying to find allies elsewhere if Jarvan is not willing to help. He will most likely not change his mind any time soon."

"Where would we find help then" asked an interested Irelia.  
"Nomad tribes, barbarians, and other independent groups. I hear the Freljordian tribes are fierce warriors, and King Tryndamere has a personal vendetta against Noxus."

"Thats a good idea Garen!" exclaimed Irelia. "If we could get Tryndamere's help, we would have a chance at holding off another invasion."

"Don't get too excited Irelia, Tryndamere will want something, or somethings in return. If he is going to send warriors into battle, some will die. He will not help for free."

"What could we give them that would convince them to help us?" Irelia questioned.

"I don't know" replied Garen. "You would have to ask Tryndamere." "I would prefer you do not go alone, Freljord is a dangerous place. The politics there are... shaky, at best."

"Ashe is powerful, but not very popular" continued Garen. "Choose your allies wisely. Sejuani is also powerful, but she hates Ashe more than most. You will probably only get one of the two if you manage to get any, they will certainly not work together."

"In addition, Noxus has to invade by sea." "As much as I hate to say it, I would hire pirates to help reduce the number of ships you need to deal with. They may be lawless, but they have ships, and know how to fight."

"How would I get a meeting with pirates Garen" asked Irelia  
"They go into bars and gambling halls a lot, especially after a successful plunder." said Garen. "They would spend time in gambling halls more than bars though." "I will go with you and keep you safe if anything happens."

"A night on the town, sounds fun" said Irelia with a grin on her face.

The sky was dark as Garen and Irelia set out. They walked into The Grounds, the largest gambling hall/bar in Demacia. Garen bought Irelia a drink, and started to look around. He noticed a man at one table with four times the coins of everyone else at the table. Odd, thought Garen. Garen walked closer, but avoided looking suspicious.

"One more hand, then I'm done" said the man with the most coins.  
The cards flipped, and he came out on top. He took his coins and began to walk away, and Garen began to follow him through the crowded building, trying to make it look like he was not following.

"What do you need from me?" the man said as he turned around.  
"I don't need anything" replied Garen calmly. "I am just heading in the same direction."  
Garen thought he was off the hook.

"No, I'm pretty sure you are following me. You have no coins, no drink, and we are heading to the high stakes table. You're lookin' pretty suspicious." The man laughed.

"How did you..." Garen began.

"Nothing gets by me." said the man smoothly. "The names' Twisted Fate, pleased to be stalked by you."

"I'm Garen"

"Nice to meet you Garen!" You don't look like the gambling type, so what are you doing here."

"I'm looking for help" replied Garen.

"What kind of help, Garen?"

"I need to find some pirates."

"What for? laughed Twisted Fate. "You wanna get robbed?"

"I can hold my own, but I don't want to fight them. I'm here to get their help."

"Well.. I guess there is a first for everything" Twisted Fate laughed.

At that moment Irelia came to Garen's side.

"Well hello there madam. Is there something I can help you with?" Twisted Fate said while winking.

"She's with me" Garen said quickly.

"Well, if you two are really looking to get some pirates help, I can hook you up, but they don't work for free you know."

"How do you know pirates?" Irelia asked.

"I've traveled the world and met many people sweetheart. I would be surprised if I didn't know pirates" replied Twisted fate cooley.  
"Meet me at Sea's End tavern tomorrow at this time. He is from nowhere and everywhere, never had a home, makes one tough."

With that Twisted Fate smiled to Irelia and walked to the high stakes table.


End file.
